There is more than just price to consider when choosing a furniture polish. You just got the piece you have been searching every flea market for! Now you want to make sure you take care of it so it lasts. We have just the right cleaning polishing tips for you.
Regular Cleaning Routine
For just regular cleaning or dusting just a damp cloth should do just fine. If you need to do a little extra cleaning, some mild dish soap and water will work perfect.
Deep Cleaning
If you have something sticky or greasy you need to clean up try some naphtha. Naptha is very mild and fast drying this stuff is great if you have used products that contain silicones.
You can also use a mix of denatured alcohol and water. For wood that I am not painting or redoing I make my mixture weak. 30% Denatured alcohol and 70% water. Use in a spray bottle and clean off. This is my go to for weekly cleaning my kitchen table. Â Tip: Make sure you test this out in an area not seen.Â
If you go any father than this with anymore products you are entering into refinishing territory.
Polishing
PSA:You don’t need to polish on a regular bases. The wood is sealed with a finish. If you oil or wax you are just adding to the top of the finish.
If you still want to do a yearly more intense polishing or cleaning to bring back some shine I have just the right tips for you to find your polishing products.
Silicones and Tara Lou Approved Products
I traveled up to the local hardware store. Ace hardware is by far one of my favorites. There is always the older man working that is super helpful and reminds me of my dad. Anyway when you go there to find your cleaning product remember to look on the lable for the words NO SILICONES. It’s really important that is says that. If it doesn’t it means the product carries silicones. Silicones is a huge no no for wood. Products like Pledge carry silicones.
After this trip to Ace the only product I could find that states there are no silicones is Guardsmen. I use Guardsman dusting cloths which are amazing! They collect all the dust wash and reuse. They are similar to a tack cloth without the waxy residue.
Silliocones are like little tiny plastic beads that sit on top of the finish. The more you apply the more build up you get. The more build up you get the less your finish can breath. This can cause the finish to break down and get soft. Sometimes you cannot even completely remove silicones even with stripping.
What do you do to clean or polish your furniture? What have you found that doesn’t contain silicones?
Thanks for reading and happy cleaning!
Tara Lou
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